2018 Editor’s Picks

We are so happy to announce our 2018 Editor’s Picks.

Fiction

The Awakening by Nancy Stohlman
Excerpt: “After the Rapture, the people were waking up, but I’m not sure what that meant, and I’m not even sure they knew what it meant, and I never trusted anyone who claimed to have woken up. My friend claimed to have woken up a few months ago, but she still seemed like a bitch to me. And, even at Starbucks, they would stare at you, and if you weren’t awake they wouldn’t draw a heart in your latte foam.”

Nonfiction

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Deliverance by David Nicholas Rigel
Excerpt: ““Hi, David. I’m Bob Ford, an educator for the local health department.” He said while swabbing my index finger with an alcohol pad. “Why are you here today?”
“To get tested for HIV,” I said. Sarcasm was a nervous habit of mine. It covered my anxiety like a comfy yet ill-fitted sweater.”

Honorable Mentions

The Hive by Will Clattenburg(fiction)Excerpt: “Wallace had a few artistic ventures going—in her head. First: she wanted to buy or dig around her parents’ junk drawer for one of those Kodak or Fuji self-winding cameras and use it to take pictures of the oversize parking lots of abandoned Big K’s, Basco Bests, I Got it at Gary’s, Superfreshes, Giant Supermarkets and other bankrupt chain retail and grocery stores.”

The Limbo Meet-up Group by Trista Hurley-Waxali (fiction)
Excerpt: ““Are you going with the navy blue pants?” My husband smiles.
I refrain from showing how nervous I am. Going to a meetup group that I found online is out of my element. I remind myself, sometimes it’s good to leave the house. I imagine the people attending this meetup have good intentions.”

The Writer Archetype by Anna Kaye-Rogers (nonfiction)Excerpt: “The rings on her fingers are clunky but tasteful, something only she could have pulled off. Her hair is swept up in a messy bun held secure by a hair tie and mutual understanding with gravity. She is the portrait of an artist as colorful eccentric, shuffling tarot cards and fangirling over authors whom she reverences with soft, hushed tones.”